This invention relates to a dispensing device and a mounting system therefor for use on toilet bowls.
Over the years there have been a wide variety of dispensing devices for dispensing materials such as deodorants, disinfectants, cleaning agents and the like into or around toilets. Reference is made to the exemplary patents listed below which describe such devices. The list is not meant to be exhaustive on the subject.
U.S. Pat. No. 367,495, Angell, 1887; U.S. Pat. No. 1,108,911, Klein, 1914; U.S. Pat. No. 1,241,231, Macy, 1917; U.S. Pat. No. 1,495,644, Poussin, 1924; U.S. Pat. No. 1,712,816, Elliott, 1929; U.S. Pat. No. 2,081,249, Pryba, 1937; U.S. Pat. No. 3,143,745, Price, 1964; U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,070, Leland, 1965; U.S. Pat. No. 3,249,951, Thompson, 1966; U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,441, Kelly, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,603, Leland, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,445, Inzerill, 1969; U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,133, Quercia et al., 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,574, Werner, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,316, Hunninghaus, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,105, Womack, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,194, Pearson, 1982; Canadian Patent No. 608,563, Tavernier, 1960.
The devices shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,133, U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,603 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,070 and Canadian Patent No. 608,563 are of interest inasmuch as they describe brackets which are suitable for mounting on the rim of a toilet bowl and, further, which support dispensing containers for aerosol and liquid materials. U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,133 and Canadian Patent No. 608,563 are of particular interest from the standpoint that the dispensing containers are actuated by the vertical movement of the toilet seat when a user either sits on or rises from the seat.
The container support and mounting structure for many of the prior art devices has not been very sturdy or effective. The bracket-type supporting units mounted on the rim of the toilet seat tend to move about, particularly when the toilet seat is employed to engage and actuate the valve of the dispensing container. Gluing or otherwise fixing the support bracket to the edge of the toilet bowl has not been very attractive because then the bracket cannot be readily removed and, if it is removed, the adhesive or other connector tends to deface the surface of the toilet bowl.
Thus, a need remains for a simple, yet effective system for dispensing deodorants, disinfectants, and cleaning agents into and surrounding toilet bowls, and particularly, for a bracket for holding dispensing containers onto the toilet bowl rim. The present invention satisfies this need.